Mayo Clinic Minute: Exercise helps prevent bone fractures and falls

From: Mayo Clinic https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zC6KtAtjd1Q

Can Marijuana Be The Answer For Pain?

As patients and doctors look for alternatives to addictive pain killers, many are turning to marijuana. While the plant is increasingly legal across the United States, research is limited into its effectiveness and potential side effects.

From: https://www.webmd.com/a-to-z-guides/news/20180420/can-marijuana-be-the-answer-for-pain?src=RSS_PUBLIC

Dog’s "cancer" turns out to be 4 chewed-up teddy bears

"We all know certain dogs​ enjoy chewing things they shouldn't but managing to devour four full teddy bears is quite a feat," the dog's vet said

From: http://www.cbsnews.com/news/dogs-cancer-turns-out-to-be-four-chewed-up-teddy-bears/

Wrist Device Shows Promise for Hand Tremors

Essential tremor affects upwards of 7 million Americans, according to the American Academy of Neurology. Its cause is unknown, and there is no cure.

From: https://www.webmd.com/healthy-aging/news/20180420/wrist-device-shows-promise-for-hand-tremors?src=RSS_PUBLIC

A Big Belly Bad for Your Heart

Those with a normal BMI (an estimate of overall body fat based on height and weight) but high levels of belly fat were about twice as likely to have a heart attack, procedures to open blocked arteries, or to die from heart problems during the follow-up than people without belly fat.

From: https://www.webmd.com/heart-disease/news/20180420/a-big-belly-bad-for-your-heart?src=RSS_PUBLIC

Apps accused of marketing plastic surgery to kids

More than 128,000 people have signed a petition asking app stores to remove the games or make them less appealing to children

From: http://www.cbsnews.com/news/controversial-apps-accused-of-marketing-plastic-surgery-to-kids/

Mission Impact: Letter from Barbara Byrd Keenan, CEO of The Endocrine Society

In the past year, we’ve worked with multiple other diabetes organizations to support all people living with and at risk for diabetes. In this edition of our Mission Impact letter, the Chief Executive Officer of The Endocrine Society shares her thoughts on why collaboration is so important:

Letter from Barbara Byrd Keenan, CEO of The Endocrine Society

I’ve greatly enjoyed the growing collaboration between the ADA and the Endocrine Society. I’m a firm believer that effective partnerships are the currency of 21^st century success. And when I say effective partnerships I’m not talking about logo-slapping, where a collage of organizational logos gives the appearance of partnership, when maybe only one or two groups carried the load.

The ADA led a wonderful recent example of a successful collaboration. Last fall, the United States was beset by an unprecedented rapid succession of three very powerful hurricanes. The resulting damage, floodwaters, and power outages left many people with diabetes struggling to get the medication they desperately needed.

The ADA, JDRF, and Insulin for Life led the charge to meet this need, and more than that, they invited others to the table, including the Endocrine Society. We were grateful for the opportunity to contribute to the relief effort.

It’s clear to me that together we will accomplish so much more than we can individually. We share your passion to defeat diabetes as well as your sense of urgency. We understand that the problems we face are too big to solve on our own.

The diabetes epidemic continues to grow, and the endocrine workforce cannot keep pace. Because people with diabetes cannot always see an endocrinologist for treatment, they will be cared for by primary care and advanced care professionals, certified diabetes educators, nutritionists, and others.

How do we help ensure these groups have the education and training they want and need? I believe our collaboration can be an important part of the answer. Health care professionals benefit from a unified voice offering evidence-based guidance on the treatment of diabetes.

We’ve recently seen what happens when organizations disagree about effective treatment. The American College of Physicians (ACP) recently recommended blood glucose targets for A1C from 7 to 8 percent, which is not aligned with ADA’s recommendations. The waters were muddied, and health care providers and patients were left asking, “Who’s right?”

Each group with a concern about ACP’s guidance could have weighed in individually but the ADA invited the Endocrine Society, the American Association of Clinical Endocrinologists, and the American Association of Diabetes Educators to present a unified strong response. Because we were unified, our statement carried a greater gravitas, and the media took note of it with widespread coverage.

The disagreement with ACP strengthened my concerns about how we develop clinical practice guidelines. Currently each organization issues its own guidelines, but what if we worked closer together to present each guideline with that same gravitas that comes from unity? I think primary care providers and patients would love to know that our groups can offer unified guidelines that offer clear recommendations.

Effective collaborations are powerful, and I am eager to build them into our partnership. I read with great interest Dr. Felicia Hill-Briggs’s column in the previous issue of Mission Impact. She shared her passion about addressing health equity in diabetes by considering interventions based on social determinants of health. I found her column inspiring, and another example of a big issue that lends itself to partnering with others. We would love to join with you on this endeavor.

The ADA and the Endocrine Society share a passion to educate both providers and patients. We both advocate in the United States for greater access to health care and increased funding for diabetes research. And in the end, we both want to see diabetes defeated. I’d like to take our collaboration to the next level. On our own, we’ll each have our share of successes, but I have no doubt we are better together.

Barbara Byrd Keenan, FASAE, CAE
Chief Executive Officer
Endocrine Society

From: American Diabetes Association http://diabetesstopshere.org/2018/04/20/mission-impact-letter-from-barbara-byrd-keenan-ceo-of-the-endocrine-society/

Opioid Scripts Down, But Anti-Addiction Meds Up

The number of people in the U.S. who received new prescriptions for medications to treat opioid addiction nearly doubled during 2017, from 42,000 to 82,000 per month.

From: https://www.webmd.com/mental-health/addiction/news/20180420/opioid-scripts-down-but-anti-addiction-meds-up?src=RSS_PUBLIC

How climate change is making allergy season worse

Warm weather is arriving up to 20 days earlier in some places; one study finds pollen counts have been rising every year since 2000

From: http://www.cbsnews.com/news/how-climate-change-could-be-making-your-allergies-worse/

Infectious Diseases A-Z: If you are over age 50, get your shingles vaccine

From: Mayo Clinic https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8iPRmmJjRJ8

U.S. Better Able to Tackle Health Emergencies

While there were gains in two-thirds of states, there were also inequities. The highest-scoring state (Maryland, 8) was rated 25 percent higher than the lowest-scoring states (Alaska and Nevada, 6.4), according to the foundation's report, which was released Tuesday.

From: https://www.webmd.com/a-to-z-guides/news/20180420/us-better-able-to-tackle-health-emergencies?src=RSS_PUBLIC

Opioids Still Overprescribed After Surgery: Study

Overall, nearly two-thirds of opioids prescribed after surgery went unused by patients, the study found. These drugs wound up lingering in patients' homes, inviting abuse and the potential for addiction, Habermann said.

From: https://www.webmd.com/drug-medication/news/20180419/opioids-still-overprescribed-after-surgery-study?src=RSS_PUBLIC

Panel: FDA Should OK Marijuana-Based Epilepsy Drug

The committee recommended that Epidiolex, an oral solution, be approved for treatment of severe, early-onset forms of epilepsy in a small number of patients.

From: https://www.webmd.com/a-to-z-guides/news/20180419/panel-fda-should-ok-marijuana-based-epilepsy-drug?src=RSS_PUBLIC

Could climate change be making your allergies worse?

Spring is here and it is predicted to be another tough season for allergy sufferers. One study finds pollen counts have been increasing every year since 2000. Dr. Tara Narula joins "CBS This Morning" to discuss why climate change could be making your allergies worse and what you can do to alleviate your allergy symptoms.

From: http://www.cbsnews.com/video/could-climate-change-be-making-your-allergies-worse/

Cops face challenges in policing drivers high on pot

Today is April 20, or 420, a day many people celebrate marijuana. As some states start to legalize it, law enforcement officers are having a difficult time policing drivers who are high. Barry Petersen reports.

From: http://www.cbsnews.com/video/cops-face-challenges-in-policing-drivers-high-on-pot/

Interval training: More workout in less time (and you can do it)

You’ve heard it a million times — exercise benefits your body, your brain, and your quality of life. You’re sold, but the problem is it can be hard to carve the needed time out of a busy day. If your schedule is putting the squeeze on your workouts, there may be a way to get the same fitness benefits in less time: interval training.

Interval training uses short bursts of strenuous activity to ramp up your heart rate and boost your fitness. The word strenuous probably sounds a little scary if your fitness level is closer to couch potato than super athlete, but interval training can work for almost anyone.

“If done properly, it can be safe for the vast majority of people,” says Dr. Meagan Wasfy, an instructor in medicine at Harvard Medical School and a cardiologist at Massachusetts General Hospital.

The trick is to define “high intensity” based on your fitness. For an elite athlete, high intensity might mean grueling wind sprints, but if you’re not that fit, it might be as simple as incorporating a few brief periods of speed walking or slow jogging into your morning walk.

Getting started with interval training

While interval training is safe for most people, it might not be appropriate for those with heart problems, breathing disorders, or other medical conditions. So, as with any new exercise regimen, it’s always a good idea to get clearance from your doctor before you begin. Once you get the go-ahead, you can start incorporating intervals into your fitness program a little at a time.

Your goal should be to perform at least a half-hour exercise session five times a week, with the first five and last five minutes devoted to warm-up and cool-down, says Dr. Wasfy. The actual workout should last 20 minutes, alternating between high and low intensity for whatever activity you are performing. For example, you might swim or cycle more intensely for 30 seconds, and then slow back down for 30 seconds to recover before speeding up again. You can use longer recovery periods initially if you need to.

While these high-intensity intervals that get your heart rate up can be as short as 30 seconds, the goal should be to extend them over time, eventually working up to high-intensity intervals that are at least two minutes long.

Those short bursts of activity can considerably improve the benefits of your workout. Ultimately, “during a 30-minute workout, including warm-up and cool-down, between 10 and 15 minutes will be at high intensity,” says Dr. Wasfy. But it will be a more productive 30 minutes than it would have been using a traditional workout format. “If you think about exercise volume as calories burned or steps taken, you will get more done in the same period of time,” she says. “This is appealing to people who are fitting exercise into a busy schedule.”

Initially, you may not have the endurance to perform interval training during all your weekly workout sessions, but you can slowly build up on that end as well.

Taking cues from your body

In order to successfully incorporate interval training, you have to listen to your body and respond to it accordingly. “The downside of interval training is that any time you are pushing your body to high intensity, you may unmask symptoms of underlying health problems,” says Dr. Wasfy. For example, a heart blockage that might not bother you on a regular walk could produce symptoms during interval training. The same could be true of musculoskeletal problems — a budding knee problem could get worse quickly when you are doing high-intensity intervals. So, be certain to pay attention to your physical needs. If you notice a problem, talk with your doctor.

Fostering fitness gains

Studies show that interval training, performed safely and correctly, may help you achieve more rapid fitness gains. Those short, high-intensity bursts help your body get used to exercising at a higher level, which makes it easier for you to do more at that level over time. If you’re not getting into that zone on a regular basis, your functional fitness will stagnate, says Dr. Wasfy. For example, a brisk daily walk is great, but it won’t improve your fitness beyond a certain point if you’re not moving your body into that higher-intensity range. Challenge yourself to help increase capacity. You’ve got to feel a little uncomfortable to ratchet up your fitness level, she says. Interval training allows you to do this incrementally.

In addition to its other benefits, interval training can reduce blood pressure and other cardiovascular risk factors, as well as improve blood sugar control, research shows. The American Society of Sports Medicine says the practice can also help you lose weight — particularly that troublesome abdominal fat — and maintain muscle mass.

In addition to squeezing a better workout into a shorter period of time, interval training can jolt you out of an exercise slump by adding a little interest and excitement to a stale routine.

So, next time you work out, try incorporating intervals, and take your old workout to new levels.

The post Interval training: More workout in less time (and you can do it) appeared first on Harvard Health Blog.

From: Kelly Bilodeau https://www.health.harvard.edu/blog/interval-training-more-workout-in-less-time-and-you-can-do-it-2018042013569

Officers armed with "no science" to police drivers who are high

In 2016, there were 51 driving deaths in Colorado linked to marijuana

From: http://www.cbsnews.com/news/pot-420-colorado-challenges-policing-high-drivers/